YOUTH IN REVOLT

MOMENTUM 

RELEASED 5 February 2010

‘Youth in Revolt’ is another movie featuring ‘the geek’ as our leading man. After recent movies like ‘Zombieland’, ‘Superbad’, and ‘Adventureland’, 2010 could well be the biggest year for ‘the geek’ yet, as geektastic movies like ‘Scott Pilgrim Versus the World’ (starring Michale Cera) and Kick-Ass (starring ‘Superbad’s Christopher Mintz-Plasse) are building huge advance word-of-mouth from early screenings. Current king of the geeks Michael Cera (Superbad, Arrested Development) stars here as Nick Twisp, a frustrated teenage virgin who sees everyone else getting action, even his seperated mum and dad. Mum’s boyfriend Jerry (Zach Galifianakis) is a useless slob, but when he sells a dodgy car to the wrong bunch of sailors, they go on a quickly enforced vacation to his dilapidated park home. It’s here that Nick meets the worldly Sheeni (Portia Doubleday), who lets Nick follow her around like a puppy. Sheeni protests a love of everything French, so Nick creates an alter-ego in his mind called Francois Dillinger, who is cool, laconic, and whose suggestions land Nick in deeper and deeper trouble.

Screenwriter Gustin Nash wrote the much-praised ‘Charlie Bartlett’ (2008) film, and here he adapts CD Payne’s novel to great effect. ‘Youth in Revolt’ is full of absurd situations and great dialogue. I laughed throughout, and the neat ninety-minute running time keeps this dysfunctional comedy going until the romantic end.  

Cera could play the part of Nick Twisp in his sleep, but his French, pencil-moustache donning alter-ego really allows him to stretch his comedic talents in a way we haven’t seen before. Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) isn’t really in the film enough to get many laughs, but Justin Long (Die Hard 4) more than makes up for it as Sheeni’s magic-mushroom-crazy brother. Portia Doubleday is confident and sexy as the object of afffection, and there’s great comic support from Fred Willard, Ray Liotta, and Steve Buscemi.

FOUR OUT OF FIVE